Shareswell tries to take the bull out of bridal registries by adding bulls and bears

Emily Washkowitz was searching a good friend’s bridal registry a little late in the engagement. There were two gift requests left to choose from: a garbage can or a fork.

So the 28-year-old Harvard grad and former Google intern launched Shareswell in April. It's an online platform where individuals can purchase stocks as gifts for weddings, births, graduations and birthdays. Instead of buying household items like microwaves, toaster ovens (Washkowitz received six at her recent wedding) and linens as wedding gifts, guests and friends purchase individual stocks.

Washkowitz’s research revealed that 80% of bridal gifts are returned. “Many people want cash back,” she explains. But she notes that asking for cash outright can be awkward or tacky.

When Washkowitz and her fiancée pondered what they wanted for their wedding, they determined that they didn’t need any more microwaves in their cramped New York apartment. “We want to start saving for the future,” she says.

In doing research for the launch, she discovered that there were complicated forms to fill out to buy stocks and buyers needed to collect the social security numbers of the bride and groom, which seemed cumbersome. Having just graduated from Columbia Business School, she did some research and helped by her husband, an attorney, she self-financed to launch Shareswell.

She secured a tiny office at Columbia Startup Lab on Varick Street, which provides resources, camaraderie, and lines up meetings with venture capital firms. She expects later this year to ask for additional financing, either angel or venture capital.

This is Bizwomen’s second year hosting Mentoring Monday, a speed-coaching events that brings together high-level women in a variety of industries to offer advice and guidance to those coming up the ladder behind them. The trick? The mentoring happens in short, 7-minute bursts.